Hoses used to carry various fluids are well known in the art. Conventional garden hoses are typically constructed from rubber or other resilient flexible material such as synthetic rubber, thermo plastic rubber or the like photochemical derivatives. A notable problem encountered with conventional garden hoses relates to the storage of the hose when not in use. Garden hoses can be stored on a hose reel, placed within a storage container, or simply left on the ground. While storage devices are practical in certain situations, in many instances the consumer cannot use or has no desire to employ a storage container. For example, a consumer may live in an apartment or small condo and would like to have the benefit of a garden hose for plant watering, car washing, or the like but do not have room for a garden hose storage device. The hose might be left in the trunk of a vehicle or coiled up in the corner of a patio with an effort to consume as little space as possible. Another example would be the owner of a boat, RV or plane who may wish to leave the hose with the vehicle. Such places are impracting for hose storage containers.
There are many situations where it is beneficial to store a hose in as little a space as possible. If the consumer does not have a device for storing the hose then they must try to organize the hose on the ground in a way as to not entangle the hose within itself. If improperly organized, the hose will tend to kink when unwrapped or uncoiled. This problem is typically encountered by the average homeowner who uses the hose infrequently wherein improper storage of a hose can result in the development of kinks. Hoses can be made with thick sidewalls to prevent kinking and resist over pressurization. Fiber reinforcements can also be used, such as woven tapes or knitting followed by the addition of an outer coating, all of which add to the weight of a hose. For this reason, it is of great benefit to have a hose that is light in weight, contractable in length, and kink resistant.
Retractable hoses are known using steel wires formed in a coiled shape with a vinyl tube, the steel wires wind through the vinyl tube so that it will normally be in a coiled or rolled configuration when not in use. When pressurized water is introduced into the hose, the hose is unwound. When the pressurized water is removed, the hose is recoiled to a rolled position. Examples of such hoses include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,814,529; 3,035,779 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,121.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,424 discloses a flexible hose formed from thin tubing and a spiral reinforcement. The tubing is tapered in its thickness in the longitudinal direction between adjacent spiral turns so that the tubing may bend inwardly in the form of pleats.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,154 discloses a flexible hose having a soft body with a rigid helical reinforcement embedded therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,734 discloses a flexible self-retracting tubing having desirable recoil strength and elastic memory. The coiled tubing is adaptable as a self-retracting air tube for transmitting fluids under pressure to pneumatic equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,063 discloses a hose construction having axially spaced convolutions and a controlled flexibility defined by alternating crests and troughs, and the hose construction has an elastomeric inner layer, an elastomeric outer layer, and an intermediate reinforcing layer made of a fabric material having a substantial open space between cooperating threads defining the fabric material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,568 discloses a flexible hose adapted to regain its original shape after crushing due to a braided-spiral reinforcement layer containing one braid member which is a relatively stiff, un-crimped monofilament and a second braid member which is a flexible textile material crimped around the stiff monofilament at each contact point in the braided spiral layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,185 discloses a flexible hose reinforced by armature layers made of flexible cables disposed helically and is attached at least at one end by compression of said layers against rigid pieces, characterized by the supporting elements and gripping elements, which are coaxial, having non-adhesive conical compression surfaces which diverge toward the end and by at least one wedge provided with slits being driven between reinforcing layers to ensure compression.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,959 discloses a system for extending and retracting the waste hose for a waste disposal system that is typically found on recreational vehicles and includes power or crank-driven hose extender means for extending a collapsible hose from its collapsed mode to its extended configuration which can be used for dumping waste from an RV holding tank into an inlet of an RV waste dump station.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,888 discloses a hose having at least one tubular layer of plastic or rubber material, a mesh-network of the chain type presenting mesh lines and mesh rows having a tubular shape being wound on the external surface of said inner layer, a possible external layer, and is characterized in that said mesh rows are slanted in relation to the longitudinal axis of the hose. According to a preferred embodiment the lines of said meshes are slanted in relation to the longituidinal axis Y of the hose, following a direction opposite to the direction of the mesh rows.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,915 discloses a vacuum cleaner hose includes a reinforcement wire material wound in the hose body spirally and continuously over the whole length of hose body. The reinforcement wire material is shaped like a steeply slanted spiral in a predetermined length portion near one of or both of the ends of the hose body so that adjacent spiral portions of the reinforcement wire material are close to each other while a hose wall of the hose body is loosened toward the inner circumferential surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,107 discloses a retractable conduit formed from a sheet of memory-set polyester. In one form, suitable as a splash block, the distal end of the polyester sheet is wider than the end attachable to a downspout. In another form the polyester sheet is sheathed in an elongated polyethylene tube, to form a retractable hose. In a preferred form, the distal end of the hose is supported on a spool which will roll along the ground as the hose is wound and unwound to further ensure that the hose retracts properly. The tube can also be provided with holes to act as a sprinkler if desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,866 discloses a garden hose assembly having a deformable section that allows a portion of the hose to be coiled around a support for holding the end of the hose in a desired position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,800 discloses a flexible tube formed so that adjacent coils are formed while in a contracted position, the tube is extendible by straightening of the coils.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,610 discloses a flexible water spray wand for connection to a standard garden hose, having a housing connectable at a lower end to the garden hose and at an upper end to a flexible tube assembly connected at an opposite end to a spray nozzle.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,948,527 and 7,549,448 disclose a linearly self-actuated hose for use in transporting fluids. A hose has a biasing spring that extends along the full length, and can comprise single or multiple springs and/or multiple diameter spring coils. The spring is covered with hose cover material on the outside and hose cover material on the inside to form a sealed hose and are bowed inward or outward radially between the individual spring coils depending on the intended use of hose.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,189 discloses a garden hose assembly includes an elongated and flexible tubular member that includes an open first end, an open second end and a peripheral wall extending between the first and second open ends. A cross-section taken traversely to a longitudinal axis of the tubular member has a generally oblong shape when the tubular member is filled with a fluid and a substantially flattened shape when the tubular member is not filled with a fluid.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a flexible hose for use in the transfer of fluids, such as water, that is contracted in length when not in use and will extendable in length when pressurized fluid is introduced, and automatically returned to the reduced length when not in use.